Duck Decoys: from Utilitarian Object to Art Form 2 Canada on a 14-Day Tour to Mark the the Shimizu Family Story

Nikkei Images National Nikkei Museum and Heritage Centre Newsletter ISSN#1203-9017 Autumn 2004, Vol. 9, No. 3 Princess Takamado Visits Steveston and the Nikkei Centre by Stan Fukawa Memorial to Japanese fishermen on June 7th, the day of her arrival. She also visited the Japanese Language School, donated books at UBC’s Asian Library, had luncheon with the Lieut. Governor, visited the Nikkei Heritage Centre and Nikkei Home and finished June 8th with a reception at the Pan Pacific Hotel hosted by local Japanese and Nikkei organizations. To mark her visit to Nikkei Place, a new painting by Ted Colyer, “Steadfast, Pacific Ocean”, was unveiled on the east wall of the Ellipse Lobby. Everyone seemed charmed by her flawless Queen’s English, her excellent French, her smile and her sincerity. And she spoke to many – from the children in Steveston from the Tomekichi Homma Elementary School, to the receiving line at the Nikkei Centre, the elders at Nikkei Home, and the representatives of the Nikkei community at the Pan Pacific. Her cross-Canada tour Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado flanked by Richmond Mayor Malcolm encompassed Vancouver, Edmonton, Brodie and Attorney-General Geoff Plant at the Japanese Fishermen’s Memorial. (Stan Fukawa photo, 2004) Continued on page 2 HIH Princess Takamado, Contents widow of Prince Takamado (cousin Princess Takamado Visits Steveston and the Nikkei Centre 1 to the Emperor Heisei) came to Duck Decoys: From Utilitarian Object to Art Form 2 Canada on a 14-day tour to mark the The Shimizu Family Story. Part II 8 75th anniversary of diplomatic Visit of the ASAMA and AZUMA to Vancouver 14 relations between Canada and Japan. Shashin: Japanese Canadian Studio Photography to 1942 17 She was in the Vancouver area for a Japanese Canadian National Museum Report 18 Board of Directors, NNMHC, 2004-2005 19 whirlwind two days, visiting the Nikkei Week 2004 Schedule Announced 19 Steveston waterfront and the Things Japanese Sale 19 1 Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal is mother to three daughters and an Announcements and Charlottetown. She received two honorary patron to over twenty Nikkei Week Sep. 15 - Oct. 2, 2004 honorary doctorates – at the cultural, athletic, aid and international Nikkei Place Universitiy of Alberta where she friendship groups, including the Japan Remembrance Day Memorial opened the Centre for Japanese Red Cross and Les Amies de Langue Nov. 11, 2004 Studies, and at the University of Francaise. She acquired her English JC War Monument, Stanley Park, Vancover Prince Edward Island. While on PEI, accent while studying at Cambridge. Shashin: JC Studio Photography Exhibition she attended the opening night of a An excellent ambassador for her Nov., 2004 new season for the musical, “Anne country, her late husband’s well- Royal BC Museum, Victoria of Green Gables.” At Kingston, she known love for Canada and the very Asahi Baseball Team Exhibition launched an exhibit honouring her late positive response to her from Feb., 2005 husband, who studied at Queens’ Canadians should mean that she will Nikkei Place University. grace our shores again soon. ❁ JCNM Lecture Series The fifty-year old Princess “After the Turmoil” T. Kage, Dr. P. Roy, Dr. Y. Shibata Duck Decoys: From Utilitarian Object Sep. 21, 2004, 7:00 pm Nikkei Place to Art Form by Mitsuo Yesaki “History of Japanese Language Schools” Development of the Decoy centres. These market hunters Dr. H. Noro, H. Steves Natives from the Atlantic increased the demand for decoys as Oct., 2004, 7:00 pm Nikkei Place and Central regions of North America they deployed huge rigs, sometimes used decoys for hunting waterfowl numbering in the hundreds. They sold Nikkei Images is published by since prehistoric times. They quickly the carcasses to meat markets and the National Nikkei Museum fashioned temporary decoys from the feathers to hat-makers, when and Heritage Centre Society twigs and grasses when required and hats were high fashion and women’s generally abandoned them after use. hats were invariably adorned with Immigrant hunters and trappers feathers. 2 Editorial Committee: copied the indigenous decoys, but Stanley Fukawa, Grace Hama, instead of fabricating them of Waterfowl Hunting in the Fraser Jim Hasegawa, Frank Kamiya, ephemeral materials carved them of River Delta Mitsuo Yesaki, Carl Yokota wood for use year after year.1 The Fraser River delta was Subscription to Nikkei Images Wooden decoys were used by a major stopover for waterfowl is free with your yearly European immigrants by the 1700s migrating along the Pacific Flyway. membership to NNMHCS: and are distinctive among folk arts Shore birds, ducks, geese and swans because they are strictly a North swarmed the delta marshes on their Family $25 American art form. The hunting southbound migrations in the fall and Individual $20 grounds for ducks and geese were again in the spring enroute to their Senior/Student $15 North America’s first highways; so northern nesting and feeding grounds. Senior Couple $20 many skilled carvers were also Waterfowl apparently was not an Non-profit Association $50 expert boat builders from the Atlantic important item in the diet of Native Corporate $100 coast and the shores of the Great peoples living on the coast of British $1 per copy for non-members Lakes. Initially, a few hunters carved Columbia. Natives relied almost NIKKEI PLACE decoys for themselves and exclusively on the abundant 6688 Southoaks Crescent, occasionally for their friends. They resources of fish, shellfish, sea Burnaby, B.C., V5E 4M7 hunted waterfowl for sport and took mammals, roots and berries.1 Pioneer Canada pride in perfecting the tools of the settlers in the Fraser River delta relied tel: (604) 777-7000 hunt.2 on the seasonal waterfowl resources fax: (604) 777-7001 Market hunters appeared in to augment their food supplies. [email protected] the mid-Nineteenth Century with the Manoah Steves arrived in 1877 and www.jcnm.ca development of railway systems purchased 400 acres on the western capable of rapidly transporting extremity of Lulu Island, north of waterfowl from remote hunting what is now Steveston Highway. He grounds to burgeoning population hunted ducks and geese with an 8- 2 gauge shotgun on the marsh were much more abundant in the contiguous to his homestead. He Fraser River delta, so Japanese hunted for food, killing 100 to 150 fishermen likely expended most of birds per outing, by mounting the their hunting effort for ducks and shotgun on a stand and shooting geese. Waterfowl probably ducks and geese grounded on the accounted for a significant proportion flats. His children were given the of Japanese fishermen’s diet of meat responsibility of processing the birds on the Fraser River. by cutting off the heads, wings and feet, and skinning rather then plucking Decoys in the Fraser River Delta the feathers and lastly gutting the William Gray is attributed to carcasses. The carcasses were introducing decoys to the Lower salted in barrels for consumption Mainland in the 1880s. He settled on through the winter.3 Salting was the Lulu Island and started commercial usual method of preserving hunting to supply the growing port of Schematic drawings from a children’s waterfowl up to the end of the Vancouver. Other well-known book showing how to fold bulrush leaves into toy decoys. 3 Nineteenth Century. Barrels of salted commercial hunters were Tru waterfowl from the Maritimes were Haviland Oliver of Ladner and Harold Harold Steves Sr. made decoys from shipped to cities in Quebec and Percy Bicknell of Richmond. Oliver newspapers folded according to a Ontario, and as far away as London, hunted from a battery, a craft Native design when snow geese England.2 specifically designed for market appeared on Sturgeon Bank. 3 Most Little information is available hunting, with a rig of over 100 floating sport hunters purchased wood decoys on the daily life of Japanese decoys and 12 cast iron wing geese. from professional carvers, while a fishermen on the Fraser River in the Bicknell started commercial hunting few carved their own rigs. last decades of the Nineteenth at age 14 with a punt gun. The gun Century. However, a diary kept by was laid along the middle of his Japanese Hunters and Carvers Sannosuke Ennyu of his initial years hunting boat, with the muzzle There is no information on on the Skeena and Naas Rivers in protruding over the bow and the stock the percentage of Japanese that the mid-1890s gives an overall view against a cushion on the transom. He hunted, but most probably the of how fishermen lived.4 Japanese aimed the gun by pointing the boat at percentage of fishermen that hunted immigrants fished two months during duck flocks on the water. Market for waterfowl was higher than in the sockeye salmon season, then hunting was prohibited in 1917, but other occupations because of their worked at various make-work Oliver and Bicknell continued carving association with waterways. They projects, including fishing for chum decoys, the latter for sale to sport spent much of the year aboard their salmon and cutting wood for making hunters. His brant, snow geese, boats and skiffs navigating through charcoal, during the remainder of the mallards and pintail decoys sold for habitats teeming with ducks and year. They participated in a cash $10 to $12 per dozen during the geese. Larry Maekawa estimates economy during the sockeye season depression. Bicknell carved between that 25-percent of the Japanese and an essentially cash-less economy 3,000 to 4,000 decoys and was more fishermen in Ucluelet hunted during the off-fishing season, influential than any other carver on waterfowl prior to World War II. 5 A bartering for most items while literally the style of BC decoys.

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